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Audi's Armored A8 Is a Luxury Tank Fit for Fat Cats

The Audi A8 L Security is nearly indistinguishable from the standard A8 L.

The car is bulletproof top-to-bottom, even against armor-piercing 7.62mm rounds from an AK-47.

Available options include a fire extinguisher for the engine, fuel and tire compartments, and an emergency supply of clean air.

Inside though, the A8 L Security is luxurious and comfortable, even when you're being shot at.

In addition to bullets, the A8 L Security is resistant to explosives like hand grenades.

Pricing isn't available, but Audi is currently taking orders and aiming to ship the first units by next Spring.

Are you the CEO of a major international corporation doing business in an area with drug cartels and frequent kidnapping for ransom? Or perhaps you're just a wealthy individual with a (justified or not) paranoid streak.

Either way, if you want to travel in safety and comfort, you can head to a custom shop like Texas Armoring Corporation which takes your ride and up-armors the hell out of it for a price—or you can buy a special high-security version direct from the manufacturer. But if you're more into vehicles that come straight from the manufacturer, Audi's here to please.

The new Audi A8 L Security, introduced at the Frankfurt auto show last week, is an armored take on the German luxury brand's flagship sedan. It can withstand fire from the 7.62mm round fired by an AK-47, including armor piercing variants. It's resistant to explosive charges like hand grenades and rocket-propelled grenades. The windows are made of a special multilayer glass with an anti-splinter polycarbonate layer on the inside, and still the windows can be lowered almost fully.

Those bona fides meet the VR 9 ballistic protection standard, up from VR 7 in the last model and the second-highest level of protection rated by the German VPAM testing organization.

The car includes a number of useful features to the executive under fire, including an armored box in the luggage compartment filled with communications equipment, and options like a fire extinguisher and emergency fresh air system that over-pressurizes the vehicle to prevent toxic gases from entering.

An emergency exit system can blow the bolts in the hinges to get the door open even if it's structurally compromised. Exterior microphones and speakers allow occupants to communicate with those outside the car without ever opening a window or door.

Audi says the brakes, pneumatic struts, connecting points between the chassis and the body, and the wheels have all been refined or redesigned from the ground up specifically for the A8 Security. Completely deflated, the run-flat tires can still handle speeds up to 50 mph (though the car's top speed is limited to 130.5 MPH to keep them from wearing out).

Aside from all that stuff (that you hopefully will never need), it's still a swanky luxury sedan—one that is nearly indistinguishable from a normal A8 at a glance. Massaging and ventilated seats are an option front and rear, along with a refrigerated or heated compartment in the back to store perishables. It's important to stay hydrated while running away from the baddies.

Buying an armored car direct from the manufacturer (BMW and Mercedes have similar offerings) has some advantages over having it bulked up aftermarket. Automakers know their vehicles better than anyone, and can design the car from the ground up to handle all the extra weight that armor adds. Audi says the A8's chassis and all-wheel drive setup "are specifically designed to meet the high security requirements."

The automaker's unsurprisingly coy about exactly how it's secured the vehicle, other than noting an extensive use of new materials in the safety cell including aramids fabric, special aluminum alloys, and a new hot-formed steel armor that offers higher protection and lower weight.

Delivery of the new A8 L Security (price TBA) begins in the spring, so you're on your own until then. No word on what its emissions will be, but don't expect the car to protect the environment as well as it protects you.